Thrifty Thinking: Use it or lose it: Spend your FSA flex dollars by Dec. 31

 The end of the year is a scramble, and it’s particularly stressful this year for the millions of Americans enrolled in flexible spending accounts (FSAs) who need to spend their account funds by December 31 or risk forfeiting those dollars back to their employers. 

Because many consumers were unable to seek healthcare services due to COVID-19 restrictions this year, many have excess FSA funds to spend and should create a spending plan now to avoid forfeiture of funds.

Experts: How to spend your flex dollars and prepare for a COVID-19 winter

Courtesy of FSAStore.com

According to the experts at FSAstore.com, here are 10 ways to get the most bang for your FSA bucks and prepare for a winter amid a global pandemic:

1. Get a flu shot to protect you and your family from seasonal illnesses. The CDC provides a great rundown on what families should know.
2. Upgrade everyday medical supplies, like thermometers, heating pads, and steam inhalers.
3. Invest in at-home COVID-19 test kits and make every day life, work, and family gatherings safer.
4. NEW IN 2020: Shop over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen, acetaminophen, cold and allergy treatments and more, which became fully eligible for FSA spending in 2020.
5. ALSO NEW IN 2020: Shop personal hygiene products like tampons, pads, period underwear, and more. These health essentials became FSA eligible for the first time in 2020.
6. Get an eye exam or buy new contacts or glasses.
7. Buy everyday essentials that fit your lifestyle, such as athletic tape and braces for the sports lover; first-aid kits for the outdoor enthusiast; mom-and-baby bundles for expectant or new parents; sun and skin care for warm weather travels; and much more.
8. Boost your health and wellness management with a high-tech health device, like smartphone-enabled blood pressure monitors, pulse oximeters, pain relief devices, baby health monitors and more.
9. Self-care: Care for your overall well-being with drug-free pain relief products and devices, light-therapy acne treatments and preventive care items.
10. Stock up, save more: Save time by shopping FSAstore.com’s product bundles, which feature related products you need in one package. Bundles range in cost from $45 to $400 and include things like a Baby Care Bundle, Family Essentials, Pain Relief and Travel Essentials.

In addition to maximizing your FSA by exploring the wide variety of eligible products, experts at FSAstore.com also offer these smart money management tips:

1. Keep track of deadlines. An FSA can allow a Carryover Option, a Grace Period and/or a Run-out Period option – or none of the above. To learn more about deadlines and possible extensions, read our guide. And check with your FSA administrator to see if these deadlines apply to your account.
2. Be a smart spender. Use available funds in your FSA to cover medical services like office copays and deductibles, LASIK surgery, medical acupuncture, chiropractic care, orthodontia, pain relief orthotics, and flu shots.
3. Reduce paperwork. If your employer offers an FSA debit card, use this option to reduce paper claims when it comes to eligible products. When using an FSA debit card on FSAstore.com, you reduce your chance of having to supply purchase documentation, as all products sold on the site are guaranteed FSA eligible.